Folk devil
A folk devil is a sociological term referring to individuals or groups considered deviant or outside societal norms, often scapegoated for various social issues or crimes. The concept highlights how society tends to identify and blame these folk devils during periods of moral panic, resulting in discrimination or hostility towards them. This reaction is often intensified by media portrayals that simplify and exaggerate the perceived threat posed by the folk devil. The term was popularized by sociologist Stanley Cohen in his 1972 work, where he examined youth subcultures in Britain, specifically the mods and rockers, and the exaggerated media narratives surrounding them. Cohen identified a five-phase cycle of moral panic, starting with the identification of a threat and culminating in societal changes that often persist even after the panic subsides. Historically, folk devils have included various groups blamed for societal problems, from Jews during the plague to youth subcultures and even media influences like video games. Understanding the folk devil concept is essential for recognizing patterns of societal response to perceived threats, and the implications such responses can have on marginalized communities.
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Folk devil
A folk devil is a concept in sociology describing a person or group of people seen as deviants and outsiders by society. These outsiders are often blamed for real or perceived crimes and other social ills, and made into scapegoats by the public. The rush to blame the folk devil can trigger a mass reaction known as a moral panic. Society’s response to the moral panic can result in discrimination, hostility, or violence toward the perceived folk devil. This reaction is often fueled by the media adopting and reporting a common narrative. The concept was first described in 1972 by sociologist Stanley Cohen who studied counterculture youth in 1960s Great Britain.
Overview
The idea of blaming an outside “evil” for problems within a society has been common throughout history. During the deadly plague outbreak of the mid-fourteenth century, Jewis people were accused of causing the illness by poisoning wells. A Caribbean enslaved person, an older recluse, and a poverty-stricken woman were among the first to be blamed during the Salem, Massachusetts, witch trials of 1692.
Stanley Cohen gave a name to this social phenomenon in his 1972 book, Folk Devils and Moral Panics. In the late 1960s, Cohen had studied the response to incidents of youth violence in several British seaside resort towns. The incidents involved two British subcultures known as the mods and rockers. Cohen found that reports of fighting and antisocial behavior between the two groups were exaggerated by the media. Despite being played up in the press as “wreaking untold havoc on the land,” the confrontations were no more serious than other incidents of youth violence and resulted in relatively few arrests. Nevertheless, the mods and rockers were viewed by the public as dangerous troublemakers and a threat to British society.
Cohen’s research found that the outbreak of a moral panic follows a predictable pattern of five phases. In the first stage, a person or group is identified as a threat to the values of society. Cohen called this person or group a folk devil. In the second stage, the media depicts the threat of the folk devil in simple, symbolic terms that are easily understood by the public. The media coverage then stirs up a growing tide of public concern. Authorities and political leaders then respond to the perceived threat with changes in policy or new laws. Finally, the moral panic begins to dissipate, but the societal changes remain.
In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, numerous people and elements have taken on the role of folk devil in society. For example, in the 1950s, violence in comic books was seen as corrupting America’s youth. In the 1970s and 1980s, the blame shifted to violent cartoons and movies. After the deadly 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, the video games and music played by the two student gunmen were cited by some as contributing to the incident.
In the early 1980s, claims that students at a California preschool were being abused and subjected to satanic rituals led to a much publicized trial. Media reports of the incident sparked fears of day care abuse and satanic influences across the country. Charges in the case were dropped in 1990 when it became apparent the witnesses were unreliable and the investigators’ methods were called into question.
In the twenty-first century the wide usage of social media and other media outlets has given rise to many instances of folk devils. As the topic of immigration became a widely debated political topic in America, the media and online discourse fed fears of criminal undocumented immigrants coming to America to commit crimes. Political figures fed these fears, as did the media.
Bibliography
Cohen, Stanley. Folk Devils and Moral Panics. 1972. Routledge, 2011.
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Drew, Chris. "17 Famous Moral Panic Examples." Helpful Professor, 3 Sept. 2023, helpfulprofessor.com/moral-panic-examples/. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.
Frothingham, Mia Belle. "Moral Panic And Folk Devils." Simply Psychology, 31 Aug. 2023, www.simplypsychology.org/folk-devils-and-moral-panics-cohen-1972.html. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.
Goode, Erich, and Nachman Ben-Yehuda. Moral Panics: The Social Construction of Deviance, 2nd ed. Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.
Haberman, Clyde. “The Trial That Unleashed Hysteria over Child Abuse.” The New York Times, 9 Mar. 2014, www.nytimes.com/2014/03/10/us/the-trial-that-unleashed-hysteria-over-child-abuse.html. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.
Hayle, Steven J. “Folk Devils without Moral Panics: Discovering Concepts in the Sociology of Evil.” International Journal of Criminology and Sociological Theory, Mar. 2013, ijcst.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/ijcst/article/viewFile/36405/33122. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.
Le Vrai, Bruce. “Mods, Rockers, Folk Devils, Deviants.” Vice, 13 Sept. 2010, www.vice.com/sv/article/ex78mk/mods-rockers-folk-devils-deviants. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.
Savage, Jon. “Mods v Rockers: Two Tribes Go to War.” BBC, 21 Oct. 2014, www.bbc.com/culture/story/20140515-when-two-tribes-went-to-war. Accessed 27 Jan. 2027.
“What Are Moral Panics?” Grinnell College, haenfler.sites.grinnell.edu/subcultural-theory-and-theorists/moral-panics/#ffs-tabbed-11. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.